After the drama of giving up to Xuzhou was over, everyone returned to their seats.
After Tao Qian looked around for a week, he asked: "Cao Cao retreated and Duke Xuande pursued him, winning first and then losing. Do you think this was Cao Cao's plan to lure the enemy?"
Chen Deng pondered: "It seems that Cao Cao did have a problem in the rear. If it was a trick to lure the enemy, he would not let Duke Xuande back."
"Yes, those soldiers and horses should be Cao Cao's troops left behind to break up the rear. It seems that Xuzhou is safe for the time being."
Mi Zhu also agreed with Chen Deng, and the reason was simple.
If Cao Cao had used a trick to lure the enemy, he would have successfully deceived Liu Bei's troops and half of Tao Qian's troops, and would never have let them back.
You must know that after the Battle of Pengcheng, Tao Qian's main force was almost killed, and there are only about 8,000 soldiers and horses in Shan County now.
When Liu Bei came from Qingzhou, he brought with him about a thousand regular troops and more than two thousand refugees picked up on the road, plus Kong Rong's three thousand men. It looked like there were six thousand men, but in fact only two or three thousand had fighting power.
Adding up the two sides, the total strength on paper was 14,000, and the actual fighting force was only a little over 10,000. At that time, Tao Qian sent a total of 8,000 troops out of the city to pursue them.
If Cao Cao was not stupid, he could have set up an ambush with a large force and completely wiped out Liu Bei and Xu Dan's troops. How could he miss this God-given opportunity?
So as long as you have a normal IQ, you can easily understand that Cao Cao really retreated his troops this time and was not playing a conspiracy.
Both Chen Deng and Mi Zhu thought this was the case. Tao Qian's worried heart finally relaxed. He looked at Shen Chen who was sitting quietly in the corner with bright eyes and said happily: "Where is the child?"
"Morning is here."
Shen Chen stood up and bowed seriously to Tao Qian like a little adult.
Tao Qian pointed at Shen Chen and introduced to everyone with a smile: "Everyone, we have Xiang Lu and Gan Luo from Xuzhou. It was this Shen Chen who told me that Cao Cao's rear would be in chaos, so that we could turn the crisis around."
"oh?"
Including Liu Bei, everyone's eyes were on Shen Chen. At least today, the entire Xuzhou senior management had remembered his name and appearance, and his reputation would naturally spread.
Chen Deng also looked at him with great curiosity, and saw that Shen Chen was about five feet eight inches tall, about 1.3 meters tall. His face was as white as jade, his appearance was childish, but his eyes were firm, and he was not timid under the prying eyes of everyone. Indeed,
Like a young and mature prodigy.
Tao Qian once said before that someone told him that there might be chaos in Cao Cao's rear. At that time, Chen Deng also refuted this view. He did not expect that someone actually said it right, and it was an eight-year-old child. It was amazing.
Shen Chen saluted seriously and said: "Tao Gong made such a compliment. Chen often crouched in the countryside and listened to people chatting about world affairs. He learned that Cao Cao killed many famous people in Yanzhou and analyzed that the powerful families in Yanzhou must be dissatisfied with him.
This time he came out in full force, which is the best opportunity for the Yanzhou family."
Tao Qian smiled and said: "Huainanzi" once said: "You can know the end of the year when you see a fallen leaf. Although a child is young, he can discern the bright things. He should be called a hero in the world. If you were born earlier,
After thirty years of ascending to the temple and governing the world, how could this great man turn into such chaos?"
This is a very high praise for Shen Chen, and it is almost suspected of being praised.
Shen Chen quickly waved his hands and said: "Tao Gong has been praised too much. Chen is just a humble trick. How can he ascend to the emperor's temple? Besides, the laws of development in the world are not the same. I just made a conjecture. In case the Yanzhou family does not If you dare to take action, it will naturally prove that Chen's inference is wrong, right?"
"this"
Tao Qian thought that what he said really made sense.
For example, if a person says it will rain tomorrow, and it actually rains the next day, everyone will think that he knows what will happen.
But what if he is just being blind? You can't determine a person's nature just because of one thing.
So Tao Qian thought for a moment and said, "Child, there is trouble in Cao Cao's rear this time. Do you think it is an opportunity for Xuzhou?"
Shen Chen shook his head and said: "Tao Gong should deal with the civil strife in Xuzhou first. Besides, I guess Yuan Shu may come."
"Why?"
Tao Qian asked.
Shen Chen said: "Before Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou, I told Duke Tao that we could use Yuan Shu to check and balance Cao Cao. But that was because Yuan Shu himself coveted Xuzhou. If Cao Cao was here, he would also be worried about Cao Cao's strength. We dare not send troops rashly. But Cao Cao is gone and Xuzhou is weak. How could Yuan Shu, like a wolf, let go of this opportunity? So although Cao Cao's rear is in chaos, the place where Xuzhou fought four battles is rarely peaceful."
History has proven this. Cao Cao was fighting with Lu Bu to death, so Yuan Shu immediately sent Ji Ling to invade Xuzhou.
Although Ji Ling and Liu Bei have been in a stalemate in the Xiapi area, with the two sides competing for victory and no outcome, it also shows that Yuan Shu has long had the intention of taking advantage of others' danger.
Therefore, if Tao Qian wanted to attack Cao Cao while Cao Cao was in civil strife, he couldn't even think about it.
Don’t you know your own strength?
He got involved in the struggle between Cao Cao and Lu Bu, and there was Yuan Shu behind him who was eyeing Xuzhou covetously, and he didn't even know how to die.
When Tao Qian heard this, he nodded with disappointment and said: "Zhizi is right, we should deal with the civil unrest in Xuzhou first. I will write to Zang Ba and Xiao Jian later and ask them to lead their troops back. I hope they can You can still obey my orders."
After the meeting, Tao Qian made a tone. Cao Cao's affairs should be ignored for the time being, and Xuzhou's internal affairs should be dealt with first. While sending people to Xiapi to appease the remaining people, he also sent people to Langya Kingdom to summon Zang Ba and Xiao Jian. .
As for Guangling, they also hated Zuo Rong and Tao Qian so much that he withheld the food and money of the three counties. After Cao Cao came, he ran away with his head and went to Guangling to harm the local people.
It's a pity that Tao Qian can't protect himself now, otherwise he would have sent troops to eliminate Zuo Rong.
After leaving Tao Qian's place, Shen Chen planned to go back.
This time Tao Qian brought up the old matter again, hoping to recruit Shen Chen to serve as an official in Xuzhou, and to accompany him to advise him like others.
Shen Chen declined again.
When I left the governor's mansion, I happened to see three people holding horses standing outside the door in awe.
One of them was wearing a green brocade robe, nine feet tall, with a face as big as a jujube, and holding a Qinglong Yanyue Sword in his hand. His appearance was extremely majestic, and he must be Guan Yu.
The person next to him is eight feet tall, has dark skin, has a leopard head and eyes, is powerful, and holds a snake spear that is eight feet tall. He should be Zhang Fei.
The last person is eight feet tall, has sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, a very handsome face, is wearing white bright silver armor, and the spear in his hand is shining with a sharp luster. He must be Zhao Yun, the young silver spear general.
Seeing these three people, Shen Chen looked at them with great curiosity. He had only seen these three Shu Han Five Tiger Generals in books or TV series. Now that he saw them in real life, he became interested for a moment and his eyes kept wandering around them.
When the three of them saw a child coming out of the Prefectural Shepherd's Mansion, they thought he was a child of Tao Qian's family and didn't pay much attention.
When Liu Bei came out and saw Shen Chen, he immediately greeted Shen Chen politely and said, "It turns out to be this young gentleman. Isn't this young gentleman going home?"
Seeing Liu Bei's courtesy, the three of them immediately focused on Shen Chen, their eyes full of surprise.
Hearing that Liu Bei had given him a nickname, Shen Chen smiled and said: "Liu Shijun goes first. Prefect Kong once gave away pears when he was a child. The villain is the youngest, so he should let his elders go first."
Kong Rong, who came out with Liu Bei at the side, laughed and said: "I didn't expect anyone to remember this little thing. You kid is really interesting. I plan to return to Beihai in a few days. Are you willing to go with me? I am willing to The books from my family collection are given to you as a gift."
Shen Chen shook his head and said: "Thank you for the kindness of Prefect Kong. The Central Plains is already in chaos. Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu are constantly fighting against each other. Beihai is not a happy land either. I predict that within the next ten years, Kanto will be in chaos due to war. The house was empty and only Jingzhou had some peace, so I decided to move with my clan to Jingzhou to avoid trouble."
Liu Bei was surprised and said: "Young master has few talents and is from Xuzhou. Aren't you willing to contribute to your hometown and protect the country and the people?"
Shen Chen said helplessly: "Chen is young and cannot convince the public. There is nothing he can do."
The two of them thought the same thing.
When Liu Bei and Kong Rong came to rescue Xuzhou, they should have been treated with courtesy and respect by the people of Xuzhou.
As a result, Tao Qian's use of Liu Bei made his subordinates Xu Dan and others feel threatened, and they could now use the knife to kill people. Thanks to Liu Bei's own ability, he escaped.
And Shen Chen was only eight or nine years old. If Tao Qian used him in an important position, he would be jealous like Liu Bei. With his age, how could he avoid being attacked openly and secretly?
Thinking of this, Liu Bei sighed and said: "Young Master, please live in Xiangbi. It is far away from Shan County. The world is not good now, so I will send you there. When you leave Xuzhou, tell me that I will Someone will be sent to escort you away."
"Thank you very much Mr. Liu."
Shen Chen did not refuse. He still wanted to know more about the real Liu Bei. This was a very good opportunity.
In fact, he once wanted to know the real Cao Cao.
But the year he traveled through was wrong. He was born in the fourth year of Zhongping, which was 187 AD, and was 6 years younger than Zhuge Liang.
This means that his actual age is 7 years old, but the ancients had a saying of false age. For example, after his 7th birthday, he is considered to be 8 years old, so he reluctantly said that he is 8 years old.
But at this age, he can't do anything and can't do anything.
Therefore, he can only learn about world affairs through hearsay and passers-by, and then make judgments based on his own memory.
Shen Chen wanted to know if Cao Cao would really massacre the city, and if he was really so cruel.
But when news of the Pengcheng massacre came last year, he knew it was all true.
Maybe this is the case in this troubled world.
If a person is not ruthless, he will not be able to gain a foothold, and Cao Cao was forced to do so.
But only the massacre cannot be forgiven or whitewashed.
Because this will remind people of another city that suffered the same suffering before the new era came.
So after knowing the truth, Shen Chen never thought of defecting to Cao Cao.
Now that he saw Liu Bei, he naturally had to examine his abilities.
Shen Chen got on the carriage prepared by the clan for him. Liu Bei got on the horse and took Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun with him to escort him away to Xiangbi.